Scottish Plaid carpet in five colors from Shaw

There are days (well, basically Every day) that I absolutely REVEL in going against the grain. Whatever the trend pundits say is “in”, I want to say is stupid. I can go overboard. Even so, can you imagine the gasps of horror that will be emitted from the throats of design fascionistas when they see me featuring — recommending — nylon carpet in this oh-so classic Scottish Plaid design?

Perfect carpet for a retro knotty pine porch
I swear I had this in the first house I ever bought. I bought a 1939 mid century modest bungalow slash colonial in Grosse Pointe Farms in about 1987. It was 1,100 s.f., one bath, two bedrooms, and out back was what, in Michigan, they call a Florida room. An unheated porch – with real half-walls and windows all around, looking out on the back yard. The whole room was covered in knotty pine, ceiling included. It was a fantastic space — so pleasant and comfortable. I would sleep out there in the summer, too. No air conditioning, so in essence I think this space also was conceived as a sleeping porch — it was accessible via the largest bedroom. I need to write about this house some more some time… now that I think about it, it most certainly influenced my love of mid century modest homes.

This Scottish Plaid nylon carpet from Shaw comes in five colorways. I’m biased toward the blue or the green if you’re working with knotty pine. These are good offsets to the red/orange typically found in the knotty pine. Remember my post about how to recreate Betty Draper’s knotty pine kitchen? Same idea with the colorways there…note her plaid wallpaper! Knotty pine and plaid are retro birds of a feather.

This carpet also is great in that it comes in 12′ widths. This means that in any room 12′ wide or deep or less, you will not have to do any seam matching. In addition, it is commercial carpet. This stuff is gonna last a long long time, I think. The price listed at writing is $4/s.f., retail. I know, even from quick online searching, that you can get a significantly better price than that, in today’s economy. This is a cheap and cheerful retro solution.

Hi, i just wanted to say you could make a throw rug out of it. Just buy the size you need, (it will probably have to be cut to size). A good carpet store will know someone who could bind it for it for you. I have done this myself with other pattern carpet. I still use the rugs, and that was probably twenty years ago. Nylon carpet lasts forever.

I love plaid carpeting in an “Early American” mid-century room with plaid wallpaper, you could really go ‘English’. I find a bit of humor and to be more relaxed with one’s idea’s of design makes a happier home. Any home that looks like a ‘showroom’ in my opinion, is more tacky than a heartfelt commitment to what one loves.
An old English Country house, which has been lived in for centuries, is a great example of mixed styles, comfort and not ‘overly decorated’.
So, I say, bring on the plaid!